Chapter 63 Your Love, I Can't Afford
"It's not important to you, but it's very important to me!"
The anger and hurt I'd been holding in for days erupted like a volcano.
"The notes are mine! With her limited medical knowledge, she dares to pretend to be Doyle's student? She's after the money from the notes. Does she think having them will make her rich like me? Dream on!"
I hurled the remote at the TV, smashing a huge crack across the screen.
The fruit bowl on the coffee table, the decorations by the sofa—I smashed everything. Soon, the living room was a complete mess.
Lucas let me vent until I had no strength left and sat on the floor crying silently.
Hearing the commotion, Alfred carefully came in to check. Lucas picked me up from the floor and calmly instructed him, "Clean up the living room."
"We don't have to get divorced," I said, lying in Lucas's arms.
Lucas stopped walking.
"I won't leave you again. Let's go back to our old home. Let me see my brothers, okay?" I pleaded with Lucas pitifully. "I hate Amelia. Don't let her keep taking my things. Lucas, I'm begging you!"
Lucas started walking again. "You can't leave me now anyway."
He carried me into the bedroom. "I don't need a capable Isabella as my wife. I just need an obedient, docile woman who takes whatever comes and puts me first in everything—a woman called 'Bella'!"
His words were like a bitter wind blowing through my wounded heart.
I was thrown onto the bed and instinctively curled up with my back to him. Lucas stood silently by the bed for a few seconds, then turned and left.
The bedroom door was locked from the outside. Alone in the room, I immediately stopped crying and looking sad. I looked around alertly and carefully placed the glass shard I'd secretly hidden in the tissue box by the bed.
That night, Lucas held me tightly as usual while sleeping.
I pretended to be asleep. Around 3 AM, I opened my eyes and quietly got out of bed.
"Where are you going?" Lucas suddenly spoke, startling me.
He wasn't asleep at all!
I couldn't help suspecting Lucas hadn't taken his medicine, or that the medicine Oscar mentioned didn't work on him.
His possessiveness toward me was abnormally intense. Maybe he hadn't slept these past few nights at all. He'd been watching me, afraid I'd run away.
I didn't answer. Lucas sat up, his calm tone seeming to see through all my secrets. "You ate a lot at dinner. You shouldn't need to go to the kitchen."
"I'm not going to the kitchen. I just don't want to lie in the same bed with you." I pulled out some tissues and roughly wiped the places he'd touched while holding me.
I got up and walked toward the door, counting silently in my head.
At three seconds, Lucas lunged at me. At five seconds, I quickly turned around and, before he could grab me, drove the shard in my hand hard into his chest!
Lucas's eyes widened in shock. "You want to kill me!"
Hot blood flowed from his chest, mixing with the blood from my cut palm.
The air filled with the smell of blood was like our relationship—even breathing was painful.
Lucas gripped my hands tightly. I pushed the shard forward with force.
In the darkness, I heard his painful groan. His face turned pale, covered in cold sweat.
"I used to think you didn't love me." I broke free from Lucas's grip and looked expressionlessly at him, slowly falling to the ground.
"Now I realize how terrifying and disgusting your love is. I don't want it! I'm not your pet, not your servant, not your decorative wife, and definitely not a tool to fix your lack of love!"
"Lucas, let's end this."
"No, Bella." Lucas's mouth opened and closed. I couldn't hear what he was saying. My mind in chaos, I ran out of the bedroom, shouting Alfred's name. "Lucas is hurt! Get Oscar here quick!"
Alfred was woken by me. Almost all the soldati guarding the house were alarmed by me. Moments later, it became complete chaos outside.
"Attack!"
"We're under attack! Defend carefully!"
Alfred sensed something was wrong in the bedroom and urgently leaned out to call me, but by then Gale and Brian had already broken in.
My brothers and I had a color code system. Every time I cooked in the kitchen, Lucas thought my habit of neatly folding even packaging waste was a cleanliness obsession, but actually, I was hiding messages in the trash.
Lucas had suspected this and ordered Alfred to check the trash, but he didn't understand the code between my brothers and me.
Tonight's operation was planned between me, Gale, and Brian.
Brian draped a thick coat over me, tears of excitement in his eyes. "Bella! You've suffered so much!"
Gale held his gun, his face dark as he looked around. "Where's Lucas?"
"I stabbed him." I instinctively grabbed Gale's arm. "Let's go quickly!"
Gale looked at me deeply.
James stood at the door, urging, "The soldati we drew away will be back soon! We're about to be surrounded. Retreat now!"
"Did you kill him?" Gale asked me.
I shook my head, silently looking at Gale with pleading eyes.
Even though Lucas kept hurting me, making me feel wronged and humiliated, I still didn't want him to die.
With my skills, I could have driven the shard into his heart, but I didn't.
"Gale, I'm begging you."
"Alright." Gale didn't let me finish. He sighed, tired and helpless, and together with Brian, quickly pulled me away by the hand.
In the car, I also hoped Gale and Brian would promise me that even if they were enemies with Lucas, they wouldn't kill him unless absolutely necessary.
Brian agreed. Gale also agreed, very reluctantly.
I smiled at them gratefully, not asking about what really happened with the ambush before the bidding meeting.
I decided to bury this matter deep in my heart and never bring it up again, no matter what the truth was.
We returned to Platinum Haven Hotel. Gale stayed with me for a while before leaving.
The situation in Starstream City had been unstable these past few days. Several forces were secretly moving against us. Both the casino and pharmaceutical businesses were affected. Gale had to deal with these troubles quickly.
Brian wanted to talk with me and learn about my experiences these past few days.
"Lucas just wanted to keep me to himself, Brian. Don't overthink it. I was actually fine." I comforted him.
Brian smiled, but his furrowed brow didn't relax.
I sighed silently and didn't continue explaining.
Constantly speaking well of Lucas would only backfire.
After this incident, the relationship between Lucas, Gale, and Brian would probably get worse and worse.
I forced myself to focus on work, as if escaping reality.
Karen compiled all the news accumulated over the past few days for me, including all of Amelia and Michelle's activities.
After dawn, I first responded to Amelia on social media with a short, powerful mockery: "Nothing but lies."
Amelia reacted quickly, emphasizing she was Doyle's student, putting herself on moral high ground.
Meanwhile, Michelle was manipulating internet trolls behind the scenes to mislead netizens, making public opinion very unfavorable to me, to Platinum Haven Hotel, and to my brothers.
Their goal was to take over Doyle's notes and claim the huge profits the notes brought me.
I decided to hold a press conference in three days to clarify this matter.
Amelia accepted my "challenge" from afar, arrogantly stating she wasn't afraid to confront me because, besides physical evidence, she also had witnesses!